Information Required on Various Aspects of Highway Maintenance
| Authority | Department of Infrastructure |
|---|---|
| Date received | 2022-01-10 |
| Outcome | All information sent |
| Outcome date | 2022-01-27 |
| Case ID | 2183369 |
Summary
The Department of Infrastructure responded to a request for data on highway maintenance, pothole statistics, and litigation for 2018, 2020, and 2021, disclosing that recycled asphalt is not used for bound materials and providing specific repair counts and costs.
Key Facts
- Recycled material is not currently used for bound materials like asphalt, though it is used for unbound pavement construction.
- The structural life of reconstructed carriageways is approximately 40 years, while resurfacing lasts 10-15 years.
- Road conditions are monitored using automated SCANNER and SCRIM surveys every two years, alongside routine safety inspections.
- The estimated cost for a single pothole repair is £62.00.
- There are approximately 200 candidate resurfacing schemes, which would take around 10 years to complete at the current budget.
Data Disclosed
- 2018 Potholes Logged: 1,504
- 2020 Potholes Logged: 1,798
- 2021 Potholes Logged: 2,142
- 2018 Proactive Repairs: 151
- 2020 Proactive Repairs: 606
- 2021 Proactive Repairs: 480
- 2018 Reactive Repairs: 1,353
- 2020 Reactive Repairs: 1,192
- 2021 Reactive Repairs: 1,662
- 2020 Open Potholes: 12
- 2021 Open Potholes: 42
- 2021 Escalated Potholes: 208
- Pothole repair cost: £62.00
- Candidate schemes: 200
- Scheme completion timeline: 10 years
- Request date: 2022-01-10
- Response date: 2022-01-27
Original Request
Dear Sir/Madam Please find below my FOI request. I realise that some of the information may be on your website, but having poured through the information I have found I am unable to find answers to the following questions (I would appreciate information for 2018,2020 and 2021 - omitting 2019 due to the lockdown): What percentage of asphalt used to repair pot holes and re-lay road surfaces comes from recycled material? What is the average life expectancy of a major route's surface? Other than user feedback, does the department actively monitor the condition of its roads, and if so, by what method? Please advise for 2018, 2020 and 2021 how many potholes were recorded, and how many were repaired pro-actively and re-actively. How many potholes remained outstanding at the end of each year? Please advise the cost (per pothole) of pro-actively repairing and re-actively repairing a pothole in each of these years. Please advise the number of resurfacing projects outstanding, current lead times and outline the tendering process. Does the department sub-contract any or all of its highways maintenance, and if so what percentages were sub-contracted out for the above years? Over the past 4 years has the department been litigated against for any accident as a result of the standard of the highway? Please provide number of cases per annum, total cost of compensation paid, and cost of administering (including legals) any claims.
Data Tables (1)
| Year | Claims | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 63 | £19,222 |
| 2017-18 | 49 | £12,938 |
| 2018-19 | 83 | £18,888 |
| 2019-20 | 88 | £10.061 |
| 2020-21 | 82 | £33,384 |
| 2021-22 | 94 | £40,734 |
Full Response Text
Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF
Contact: FOI Response Team/AD/RH Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im
Our ref: 2183369 27 January 2022
Dear ###
We write further to your request which was received on 10 January 2022 and which states:
"Dear Sir/Madam Please find below my FOI request. I realise that some of the information may be on your website, but having poured through the information I have found I am unable to find answers to the following questions (I would appreciate information for 2018,2020 and 2021 - omitting 2019 due to the lockdown): What percentage of asphalt used to repair pot holes and re-lay road surfaces comes from recycled material? What is the average life expectancy of a major route's surface? Other than user feedback, does the department actively monitor the condition of its roads, and if so, by what method? Please advise for 2018, 2020 and 2021 how many potholes were recorded, and how many were repaired pro-actively and re-actively. How many potholes remained outstanding at the end of each year? Please advise the cost (per pothole) of pro-actively repairing and re-actively repairing a pothole in each of these years. Please advise the number of resurfacing projects outstanding, current lead times and outline the tendering process. Does the department sub-contract any or all of its highways maintenance, and if so what percentages were sub-contracted out for the above years? Over the past 4 years has the department been litigated against for any accident as a result of the standard of the highway? Please provide number of cases per annum, total cost of compensation paid, and cost of administering (including legals) any claims."
Our response to your request is as follows:
Recycled material is currently not used for bound materials. The Department has been
looking into ways of making greater use of recycled material. Recycled material
including asphalt arisings is used for unbound pavement construction.
The life expectancy will depend on the level of works undertaken. Structural life of
carriageways from reconstruction should be around 40 years. Where there has been
resurfacing, we would expect a surface to last 10-15 years before requiring
intervention to seal the road surface (such as a surface dressing). Surface treatments
such as surface dressing or microasphalt should last up to around 10 years. However,
the actual condition of any roads will vary according to their construction, traffic and
heavy goods volumes, tree cover and drainage amongst other factors.
The Department monitors the road condition through surveys using automated surveys
(using a specialist SCANNER machine) to assess ride quality, texture depth, rutting,
surface defects amongst other factors. We monitor skid resistance using automated
surveys (SCRIM). These are carried out approximately every two years.
Routine carriageway safety inspections are carried out on a frequency dictated by the
road hierarchy monthly, three monthly, six monthly and annually.
2018
Potholes Logged = 1,504
Proactive = 151
Reactive = 1,353
Closed = 1,504
Void = 1
2020
Potholes Logged = 1,798
Proactive = 606
Reactive = 1,192
Closed = 1,729
Open = 12
Escalated = 56
Void = 1
2021
Potholes Logged = 2,142
Proactive = 480
Reactive = 1,662
Closed = 1,890
Open = 42
Escalated = 208
The estimated cost of a pothole repair is £62.00.
There are around 200 candidate schemes which at the current budget would take
around 10 years. These are updated and evaluated constantly based on condition
information, reports and other factors, and then the forward programme is planned
based on the available maintenance budget. The Department uses a roads hierarchy
and more funding is allocated to strategic roads. The tendering process may be either:
- Through a framework, such as for surface treatments.
- Through a pre-qualification list (the SELECT list of suppliers)
- Tendered individually, either through the government portal or based on best value for smaller jobs below £10k The Department contracts out the following:
- surface treatments (microasphalt, surface dressing and high friction surfacing). 100% of this work is contracted out due to the specialist nature of the application.
- some paver packages for schemes that require a smaller paver machine and other schemes where the Department does not have capacity. Approximately 10-15% of paver work is contracted out annually.
- some packages of kerbing, drainage, patching
- there may be ad-hoc other repairs contracted out according to demand. Highway construction schemes are approximately 80% contractor delivered Year Claims Cost 2016-17 63 £19,222 2017-18 49 £12,938 2018-19 83 £18,888 2019-20 88 £10.061 2020-21 82 £33,384 2021-22 94 £40,734 Please quote the reference number 2183369 in any future communications. Your right to request a review
If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.
An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at
https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper
version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact us and we will
be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are
dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will
respond as soon as the review has been concluded.
If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal
to the Information Commissioner for a decision on;
1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with
Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or
2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any
time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another
form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. We will now close your request as of this date.
Yours sincerely
FOI Response Team